U.S. quizzes 2 on how 3 city payrollers obtained truck-driving licenses

Federal authorities are looking into allegations that three city workers with ties to former Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez improperly got truck-driving licenses that qualified them for higher-paying jobs.

FOR THE RECORD - This story contains corrected material, published Oct. 21, 2006.

The city acknowledged the licensing problems in June 2005, and the Tribune reported two months later that the workers who obtained them were connected to Sanchez.

Now federal agents investigating City Hall hiring have questioned a fired city employee who has said that he helped the three obtain licenses, even though they lacked the required behind-the-wheel training. The fired worker, Gerry Sarussi, said he did it as a favor to Sanchez.

Sarussi was questioned after receiving a grand jury subpoena, said Sarussi's lawyer, Joseph Spingola. Spingola, who is fighting to get Sarussi's job back, said he did not know what his client was asked about or what he told agents.

But sources said the questioning focused on Sanchez's role in getting the licenses in 2002.

Federal agents also have questioned the father of one of the workers who got a license and subpoenaed his son to testify before the grand jury, the father said.

Sanchez has been a leader of the Hispanic Democratic Organization, a political group allied with Mayor Richard Daley. The group, which has hundreds of members on the city payroll, is under federal scrutiny for allegedly participating in a scheme to rig city hiring to reward the mayor's supporters with jobs and promotions.

Sanchez's personal driver

One of the disputed trucker's licenses went to Efrain Sanchez, who is not related to Al Sanchez but who was then his personal driver. Efrain Sanchez also was a member of the HDO.

Efrain Sanchez did not need the trucker's license to drive the commissioner. But about two weeks after he got it, his city job title changed and his salary jumped by about 39 percent--to $54,945 from $39,552.

Another city worker who got his license was Robert Aguirre, who has done campaign work for the HDO and candidates backed by the group.

The third was John Carroll, the son of the owner of the Crow Bar, a Southeast Side tavern frequented by Al Sanchez and other HDO members.

Carroll's father, Pat Carroll, said he was questioned several weeks ago by federal agents about how his son got his city job and his trucker's license. Pat Carroll said he was also asked about his own contributions to Ald. John Pope (10th), an HDO-backed candidate.

Pat Carroll said Sanchez has told him that he did not help John Carroll obtain the trucker's license. "Al told me, `Don't ever think I would put your kid in that position,'" Pat Carroll said. "The feds are beating a dead horse."

The tavern owner said he often played host to HDO meetings attended by Sanchez and Victor Reyes, a former top Daley aide who is the group's chairman. Pat Carroll said he served free buffet dinners for 60 to 100 HDO members, many of whom would stay to drink at his bar.

"I loved them. They were the best for my business," said Pat Carroll, who has owned the Crow Bar for 25 years.

Sanchez retired in June 2005, at the same time the city moved to fire Sarussi for certifying that the three were qualified to drive trucks even though they did not have two weeks of training.

In announcing Sarussi's dismissal, city officials did not disclose that the workers who got licenses were tied to Sanchez.

Got a call on disability

Sarussi testified at the city's Human Resources Board that he was on disability leave when a Streets and Sanitation boss called him and asked him to give driving tests to the three men as a favor to the commissioner. Guy Di Turi, an assistant general superintendent, told him that "Al wanted it done," Sarussi said.

Di Turi, a nephew of the late 1st Ward powerhouse John D'Arco Sr., has denied that Sanchez asked him to help get the licenses. But last month, a city hearing officer recommended that Sarussi get his job back because he was following orders from other employees.

The board will make a final decision in the case. At a hearing earlier this week, city lawyer Thomas Aumann told the board that Sarussi's testimony was not credible because he had lied to city investigators. Sarussi has stated that Di Turi told him to hide any link to Sanchez to protect the commissioner and the HDO.

At the hearing, a board member asked Spingola, Sarussi's lawyer, whether the three got their licenses improperly. Spingola declined to answer the question, telling the board that federal authorities have begun to look into the matter.